He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
by VivaciousViolinist
Summary: Cooper visits Blaine in the hospital after the Sadie Hawkins dance. While sitting at his bedside, Cooper sings to Blaine and reminisces on past events.
1. The Road is Long

It was the worst phone call he had ever gotten. Cooper quickly grabbed his car keys and sprinted outside, stumbling into his moccasins on his way out the door. He had never been very religious, but Cooper prayed during his entire journey to St. Rita's that everything would be okay.

It was a miracle he didn't get pulled over, making it from Cleveland to the Lima medical center in two hours instead of the usual three; it was 4 o'clock in the morning. Cooper parked his car and ran to the front desk, scaring the receptionist half to death after shouting his brother's name at her and taking off for the elevator.

His parents had told him not to come. They said they didn't want such a "minor issue" to tear Cooper away from his clients at work. They had only decided to call him at such a late hour because Blaine kept screaming his older brother's name while he was in the emergency room. But ever since he had grown up and moved out, Cooper had stopped listening to what his parents told him to do, especially when it came to his baby brother. Cooper knew Blaine better than anyone; they texted each other every day and spent hours talking on the phone during the weekend. In fact, Cooper had just been talking to Blaine hours before while he was anxiously getting ready for the dance. Obviously, something had gone terribly wrong while he was there and the fact that his parents would describe Blaine being in the hospital as a "minor issue" enraged Cooper.

The elevator finally stopped on the fourth floor and Cooper tried to compose himself as he found his way over to the ICU. People were yelling at him, asking who he was and where he was going, but he had no time to stop for them. He searched frantically until he saw through one of the glass windows a small, curly haired head resting on a pillow. He rushed inside the room and had to catch his breath.

Lying there, beneath the mess of wires, tubes, and machines was his tiny, baby brother. His right arm was heavily bandaged and there were bandages around his ribs, covered in dried blood that Cooper could see even under his hospital gown. His face had been beaten to make him almost unrecognizable, covered in cuts and bruises. He was hooked up to a machine that was breathing for him. He was so small, so fragile.

Mrs. Anderson had been sitting in a chair near Blaine's bed but was now standing next to Cooper, begging him with her eyes to say something.

"What happened?" was all Cooper managed to get out of his throat, desperately trying not to choke on his words as he spoke.

"Some boys didn't particularly… care for your brother's choice in dates. Things got a little out of hand and they roughed him up a little bit," her voice small and quiet as if she was unsure of what to say.

"Roughed him up a little bit? Mom, he's lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to all sorts of machines and monitors! I think that's more than 'a little out of hand' don't you?"

"Don't scream at your mother," Cooper's father spat at him. He was standing in the doorway, holding two cups of coffee and a tired expression on his face. "We're trying to handle this as best we can, there's no need to get angry or exasperated over minor issues like these."

"Have I gone completely crazy? This isn't something minor!" Cooper yelled at his father, choosing that he was the best person at whom any kind of anger could be aimed. "We have both been telling you how much crap he gets at school! What the hell was so important that you couldn't just look out for the well being of your son?"

"I do look out for him," his father replied, cold and bitter. "I told him that going to this dance with a boy would be a terrible idea. I knew it could only lead to trouble. No one likes having people like him crammed down their throats. It's disgusting and it's embarrassing. But you know how he is, stubborn. He does whatever _he_ thinks is best. It's no concern of mine if this is how he wants to live his life."

Cooper could not believe his father, the man who had raised him to be who he is now, was speaking about another human being like this let alone his own son. After so many years of admiring and looking up to his father, he was now revolted by him.

"If it bothers you that much, why don't you go home? Honestly, I don't want Blaine to wake up to some resentful 'I told you so' game."

Mr. Anderson sighed and handed one of the cups to his wife. She looked terrified, standing between her husband and beloved, oldest son whom she so loved.

"Fine, Cooper. You want to stay with him? Alright. Your mother and I are going home, we've been here far too long and I'd rather not be entirely exhausted for work tomorrow morning. Who knows, maybe your drive out here wasn't as useless as I thought it would be," and with that he stormed out of the room.

"Please call me when he wakes up," Cooper's mother whispered as she kissed him on the cheek and followed her husband down the hallway.

During the argument with his father, Cooper had failed to notice that Blaine's heart monitor had gone up, beeping frantically as if calling out to Cooper for attention.

Cooper grabbed the chair his mother had been sitting on and pulled it as close to Blaine's bed as possible. He then carefully reached out for his hand, trying to avoid any wires, and held it in his own. Even Blaine's hands looked damaged, scratches all over the backs and blood dried under his fingernails. Cooper let out a deep sigh as he rubbed his little brother's hand.

He started to hum, hoping to calm down Blaine's heart rate. When Blaine was much younger, Cooper would always sing to him when he was upset or crying. Music had a certain effect on Blaine that some would consider to be therapeutic. After a few minutes, Blaine's heart went back to normal and Cooper began singing.

"The road is long  
>With many a winding turn<br>That lead us to who knows where,  
>Who knows where<br>But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him  
>He ain't heavy, he's my brother."<p>

The older man looked at Blaine. Even though he was fifteen years old, he looked so much younger. Maybe it was because of his small size, maybe it was because Cooper would always just see him as his baby brother. Either way, it killed him to see Blaine in such a dejected state.

Cooper thought back to all the times he had protected Blaine; things that seemed so big at the time but were now minute compared to seeing his little brother lying in that hospital bed. A part of him felt guilty that he couldn't have been there to protect Blaine from this terrible incident. He shouldn't have been so blind from the obvious problems of Blaine going to the Sadie Hawkins dance with another guy. Of course, he wouldn't have told Blaine not to go, but he could have at least advised him of the dangers. Maybe he would have been better prepared. Maybe he could have fought back sooner if he had expected it.

These thoughts began to eat away at Cooper and he felt worse and worse. Letting out another sigh, he continued singing.

"So on we go; his welfare is my concern  
>No burden is he to bear; we'll get there<br>For I know he would not encumber me  
>He ain't heavy, he's my brother."<p> 


	2. I'm Strong Enough to Carry Him

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! Thanks for reading my story, I'm so excited to see so many people interested in it. Just as a side note, the chapters alternate between Cooper's memories and the actual hospital scene. So chapters 1,3, and 5 are present day and chapters 2 and 4 are some of Cooper's memories (also, the memories will be in italics.) I'm trying to work really hard to get this written as fast as I can because I hate waiting around for stories I'm reading to update. Hope you enjoy! :)**

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><p><em>It was the first time their parents had gone out in a long time and Cooper was going to make sure Blaine enjoyed it as much as he did.<em>

_"Come on, B. We're going to the park!" he yelled upstairs to his brother as he pulled his sneakers on and grabbed a soccer ball._

_"Yaay!" Cooper heard Blaine scream from inside his room._

_Blaine's parents had never taken him to the park before; they thought it was a waste of time to run around outside and get dirty while their sons could be at home reading a good book. So Cooper took Blaine to the park as much as he could because really, how do you tell a six year old that he should be reading Ivanhoe instead of running around a soccer field?_

_Blaine was taking far too long to be getting ready to go to the park. Cooper rolled his eyes as he started up the stairs, hoping he wouldn't find his little brother doing something completely ridiculous._

_He was, of course. Cooper stood in the doorway as his six year old brother was struggling to put on a charcoal colored vest over a dark blue dress shirt. He was wearing black dress slacks and matching penny loafers._

_"Blaine, we're going to the park, not Sunday brunch," Cooper joked to his little brother as he walked over to Blaine's closet and began searching through it._

_After what seemed like years searching through countless vests, bowties, and sweaters, Cooper found what he was looking for._

_"Here," he said as he threw a red Buckeyes t-shirt over to him. "This is what you wear to the park. Besides, if you came home with that vest of yours covered in mud, mom would not be happy to find it in the hamper, I can promise you that."_

_Blaine scrunched his face up as he began undressing himself, neatly folding his vest and putting it on his bed to hang up later._

_Cooper continued to search through the closet and came across a tiny pair of jeans. He chuckled to himself and looked over at his brother. Even for a six year old, Blaine was especially small. But this didn't worry Cooper. He knew that once Blaine got into the swing of soccer or maybe even football, he would develop all that muscle mass he needed. Besides, he still had a long time to grow._

_"Here ya go, buddy," he said tossing Blaine the jeans and a pair of what appeared to be unworn sneakers._

_As Cooper began to walk out of Blaine's room, his little brother called out to him. "Hey Coop, could you tie them for me?" his big eyes looking up at his older brother with excitement._

_"Of course B," Cooper said as he began to tie Blaine's sneakers for him. At six years old, Blaine really should have been able to tie his shoes by now, but Cooper was okay with this too. He wanted to keep his little brother young and naïve for as long as he could._

_He ruffled Blaine's adorable curls on his head as he got up._

_"Come on now, we want to make sure we get home before they do," Cooper advised his brother as Blaine skipped out of his room and down the hallway._

_Cooper loaded Blaine into the back of his car, adjusting the booster seat so that Blaine was secure. Cooper smiled to himself, again noticing just how small his brother was._

_Technically speaking, Cooper wasn't allowed to drive by himself, but the park was only a few miles away and Cooper couldn't see Blaine's little legs carrying him that far. Besides, what was life without a little risk?_

_They arrived at the park a little while later, Cooper blasting Matchbox Twenty and Blink 182 the entire way while Blaine was dancing in the backseat. Cooper grabbed his soccer ball as Blaine scampered over to the wide open field._

_They spent a few hours kicking the ball around; sometimes Cooper would play goalie while Blaine practiced shooting. Blaine was good, Cooper noticed. Maybe not as good as himself, but he'd definitely get there with some practice._

_"Coop! Can I play goalie for a bit?" Blaine asked his brother as Cooper dove, and missed, for a ball that buried itself in the back of the net._

_"Sure, buddy. But watch out, my legs are much longer than yours, nothing easy," Cooper teased Blaine as he grabbed the ball and dribbled over towards the penalty line._

_Cooper scored easily the first few times; Blaine barely had enough time to even see the ball go flying past him. After a while, Blaine passed the ball to his older brother, saying, "I got the next one." Cooper laughed and kicked the ball to the bottom left corner of the net. Blaine instantly dove for the ball, missed it entirely, and somehow ended up tumbling out of control, leaving him 20 feet away from the net with a bleeding knee._

_"Shit," Cooper muttered to himself as he ran over to inspect his little brother, praying the cut on his knee was all that was wrong with him._

_"I thought I had it," mumbled Blaine, his big, hazel eyes laced with tears as Cooper began to wipe rocks out of the injured knee._

_"Yeah, maybe next time, B. Let's get home and get you cleaned up before your knee gets some weird fungus or something."_

_Cooper amazed himself as he managed to get Blaine home without getting any blood in his car. Blaine hobbled in the front door as Cooper grabbed the first aid kit from the kitchen._

_"Come on up, kiddo." Cooper placed Blaine on the kitchen counter and began to thoroughly inspect his little brother's knee._

_The sixteen year old examined the skinned knee, tilting his head and adjusting Blaine's leg before letting out a sigh and saying, "Mmhmm, just as I thought."_

_"What?" Blaine questioned, looking scared and confused._

_"It's your knee," Cooper determined, "It'll have to come off."_

_"Are you kidding me?" Blaine shrieked at his brother._

_"Haha, just kidding bro, it'll be fine. A little bit of Neosporin and one Batman band aid and you'll be all set to go."_

_However, after really looking at Blaine's knee, Cooper realized that he should pour some peroxide on it first. He started to dab some on a cotton ball and put it on Blaine's knee, but his little brother kept squirming around while he tried to get it on the injured knee._

_"B, stop squirming around. I gotta get this stuff on or your knee will need to come off."_

_"But Coop it really stings," Blaine whined._

_"Yeah, I know I know, but you gotta."_

_"Okay," Blaine replied, disgruntled and slightly anxious._

_Cooper managed to get some of the ointment on his brother's knee while Blaine sat there, tears silently falling down his face. After Cooper finished cleaning up Blaine's knee, he put a Batman band aid on it and patted Blaine on the head._

_"Wanna go watch reruns of Wishbone?" Cooper asked, hoping to cheer up his little brother._

_"Yes yes yes yes yes!" Blaine jumped off the counter, almost creating another accident, and rushed over to the giant couch in the living room, jumping on the biggest pillow._

_Cooper walked over and turned the television on then took his seat on the couch next to his little brother. Blaine nuzzled himself under Cooper's arm and wrapped his own arms around Cooper's stomach._

_"This was the best day ever, Coop," Blaine told his big brother as he tried to suppress a yawn. "Will you always have time to play with me?"_

_Cooper strongly considered the fact that Blaine was crazy to think that today was "the best day ever." He had sliced open his knee and had what felt like acid poured over said slice. Cooper just smiled and tousled Blaine's curls._

_"Of course, B. I'll always make time to be with you."_

_"You promise?"_

_"I promise," Cooper said as he looked down at his little brother who was now starting to fall asleep after a long day._

_"Mmmm, I love you, Coop," Blaine mumbled before he started to drift off to sleep._

_"I love you too, Blaine."_


	3. So On We Go

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry I wasn't able to update this sooner and I feel even worse about it being so short. Also, I apologize for my recent update frenzy, I keep trying to reformat my chapters and I'm not so familiar with this site's formatting and such. This is sort of just a transition chapter. I'm really busy the rest of the week, but I promise the next chapter will be much longer when I do get it up. Just a reminder, parts written in italics are past events. Please don't forget to review! I'd love any suggestions or critiques :)**

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><p>The alarm on Cooper's watch started beeping; it read 7 am. If this had been a normal day, Cooper would be getting ready for work; showering, shaving, and gathering all the case files he left on the coffee table from the previous night. But this wasn't a normal day. Cooper was sitting in a hospital, almost 200 miles away from Cleveland. He had only gotten 3 hours of sleep and didn't plan on getting more any time soon. Blaine hadn't woken up since Cooper got there and Cooper wanted to make sure Blaine wasn't alone when he did.<p>

But the terrifying thing was that Cooper didn't know when Blaine was going to wake up. The doctors told him that Blaine's head had been beaten in so much that it resulted in some minor brain damage.

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><p><em>"Eventually, he'll be fine. Someone beat his head in pretty hard, looks like it was with a bat or something, but physically, he'll recover," the middle aged doctor explained to Cooper, trying to sound as sympathetic as possible.<em>

_"Was he unconscious when he got here?" Cooper asked, worrying about just how severe the doctor considered "minor brain damage" to be._

_"Well, he was in and out on the ambulance ride over here," Dr. Morton began. "When they got him into the ER he was shouting for someone and then slipped into the state he's in now. He will wake up, it's just a matter of when."_

_A pang of guilt engulfed Cooper. Blaine had been calling for him. And he hadn't been there; he hadn't been there to save his baby brother. Cooper knew he wouldn't have been able to help Blaine the way the doctors did, but he could have supported him; he could have at least held his hand._

_"He'll need to go to therapy," Dr. Morton called Cooper out of his thoughts and back to reality, "for his injuries and the psychological effects from everything."_

_Cooper shook his head in agreement, looking at his baby brother as he lie on that big, hospital bed._

_Dr. Morton clapped Cooper on the shoulder before walking out of Blaine's room, leaving Cooper alone with his brother._

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><p>So Cooper waited by Blaine's bed, holding his hand and waiting for him to wake up. Occasionally he ran his hand through Blaine's curls, trying carefully not to hit any of the numerous bruises on his baby brother's face.<p>

Just looking at Blaine's face was painful for Cooper. It was hard to believe that his brother, his sweet and innocent baby brother, had been torn to pieces by some homophobic, heartless teenagers. It infuriated Cooper that Blaine was beaten to a pulp for bringing a boy to the dance instead of a girl. He wondered if the group of kids who had done this was the same group of kids that Blaine had helped with math, or the same kids that he used to play soccer with.

Cooper sighed and continued to sing, not knowing whether his motives were to calm or wake Blaine.

"If I'm laden at all, I am laden with sadness  
>That everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness<br>Of love for one another."


	4. His Welfare is My Concern

**Author's Note: Hey there :) Okay, so here it is, chapter 4. I'm so sorry it took me so long to get it up, but as promise, it's longer than the other chapters. Again, comments are welcomed. Heads up, the next chapter is going to be the last one. I'd love to write more so any prompts or even song choices would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading, don't forget to review!**

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><p><em>The house looked the same as it always had. Lisa gasped at the size of the estate as Cooper pulled into the circular driveway. He parked and opened the car door as Lisa got out.<em>

"_Don't worry, I know it seems really intimidating but it'll be fine," Cooper said with a wink. _

"_I hope so because no offense, but your house looks like something out of a horror movie," Lisa teased as she wrapped her arm around Cooper's waist for some much needed support. _

"_Well, I never said it wasn't," Cooper laughed as they walked closer to the front door._

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><p><em>Dinner was always something that Cooper dreaded when he was home. His father would try to critique every aspect of Cooper's life and make, as Mr. Anderson called them, "suggestions" to how he could make it better. Of course, Cooper wasn't one to sit there and listen to all the crap his father spewed out at him. This led to Cooper bantering back and forth with his father until voices were raised, fists were slamming on the table, and Cooper's mother was crying. Unfortunately, this night was no exception.<em>

"_You know, Cooper, I don't understand why you're continuing with this stupid rock band while you're trying to pursue a career in law. You don't have the time or energy to take away from law school; I don't think you understand just how important your future is."_

"_Dad, it's my life and I need to make my own decisions. Just because you think it's stupid doesn't mean I can't do it. I hang out with my friends on the weekends and sometimes we play at a few bars making pocket cash. It's my way of relaxing and last I checked, it doesn't affect you." Cooper was getting tired of rebuking his father's comments. He knew his father meant well, but at this point, he was simply trying to further control Cooper's life. _

"_Actually, it does affect me if you're throwing away time that you could be using to study more. If you fail out of law school, you'll come running back to me crying about needing a job and then it __**is**__ my problem," Mr. Anderson shot at his eldest son. "I will not be faced with the embarrassment of my son failing out of law school. Think of how your family's reputation will suffer from your childish decisions, Cooper."_

"_Dad, I'm not gonna let you continue to think you run my life. I am a grown man and I can certainly make my own decisions. I'm __**not**__ going to fail out of law school and if I wanted to be a pole dancer on weekends, I would, simply because I can."_

_Mr. Anderson stared down at his son from the other end of the table with a look of disgust on his face. He got up, picked up his plate and walked out of the room towards his study, slamming the door behind him. _

_Cooper laughed to himself, satisfied with winning this argument. _

"_So Blaine," he directed at his thirteen year old brother, who seemed to have been lost in a daze up until this point, "How's everything going with school? That from soccer?"_

_A flash of panic passed through Blaine's eyes as his hand instinctively touched the large scratch on the right side of his face before he calmly and quietly spoke. "School's been pretty good. Umm, yeah, the goalie was out sick the other day and I had to fill in; you know I'm not really the best goalie."_

_Cooper smiled as he remembered that day he had brought Blaine to the park to play soccer when he was about six and he had split his knee open after diving for a ball. _

"_Don't worry, B. I'm sure you'll get better at it and if not, who cares? You're the best striker on the team." Cooper knew this was true; he wasn't just saying it to cheer Blaine up. Actually, he found it pretty strange that Blaine had filled in for the goalie seeing as he was the top scorer on Blaine's youth soccer team. Probably just giving the other kids a chance to play before they eventually get cut, Cooper thought to himself. _

_The rest of dinner went pretty well; Mrs. Anderson and Lisa had a long winded discussion on Lisa's job as an art curator which continued as they began to clean up from dinner._

_Cooper decided it was safe to leave Lisa with his mother as he and Blaine went downstairs into the family room to catch up and watch some _Colombo_ reruns. _

"_What do you think of her?" Cooper asked Blaine seriously as the opening credits came on the TV screen._

"_She's nice. And the fact that she didn't run out of the house screaming as soon as dad started speaking was a nice change. I like her," Blaine told his brother. _

_Although he had told Blaine all about Lisa over the phone, Cooper was happy that Blaine had now met her and could fully understand what Cooper had been rambling about for the past few months. _

"_That's true. Any girl who doesn't immediately leave after meeting him really is a keeper. She's amazing, and absolutely beautiful. Don't get any ideas, bro, I know how that adorable little brother act can charm any woman no matter how old she is," Cooper said as he ruffled Blaine's curls._

_Blaine gave a nervous laugh as he reached over to grab the remote to turn up the volume. As he did, his shirt pulled up and Cooper saw four, giant, purpling marks that extended all the way up Blaine's right side._

"_Woah, B, what is that?" he grabbed his baby brother as all the color from Blaine's face drained._

"_This can't be from soccer, man. I was a goalie for almost twelve years and I know what kinds of bruises you get from being on the ground; these are not them," Cooper said, his voice laced with concern._

_Blaine looked up at his brother, tears in his eyes; the same look that he had given Cooper whenever he would run into his bedroom after having a nightmare. Blaine let out a deep sigh and turned away, looking for something, anything, to distract his brother from continuing the conversation._

"_Blaine, what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything," Cooper asked quietly. _

_Contemplating whether to take the opportunity or not, Blaine turned back to Cooper._

"_I'm not gonna try to steal Lisa from you," Blaine finally said, cautiously looking at Cooper._

"_B, I was just kidding," Cooper laughed. "I hope you didn't take that seriou-"_

"_I'm not gonna try to steal her from you because I don't like her," Blaine blurted out._

"_Oh," Cooper commented, slightly disappointed. He couldn't understand why Blaine would lie to him about liking Lisa when he actually didn't. Of course Cooper wanted Blaine to like her, but his baby brother would always come first, and Blaine knew that. "I mean, that's fine, B. You know, nothing's like, set in stone or anything. But…Umm."_

"_No Coop, it isn't that. I do like her, but, I don't think she's pretty."  
>"Well, Blaine, everyone's entitled to their opinion, I'm not terribly offended if you don't think my girlfriend is prett-"<em>

"_Cooper, you don't understand!" Blaine practically shouted before realizing he was getting loud and took a deep breath. "I don't think __**any**__ girls are pretty, I don't like __**any**__ girls. Cooper, I… I like boys. I think __**they're**__ pretty… The other boys on my soccer team were talking about how they thought some girls in their classes were pretty and I asked why they didn't think any of the other boys were pretty too… They looked at me like I was crazy and the next day at practice, they wouldn't talk to me. They wouldn't pass me the ball or anything and they kept glaring at me like there was something wrong with me… Our goalie __**was**__ out sick a few days ago and I offered to fill the spot because even though I would be alone at the end of the field, at least I could choose to be by myself and not feel like I was being punished by them… At one point when I went out of the box to get the ball, one of the guys ran into me and a bunch of them ran over and started kicking me. They said they missed and were just trying to get the ball, but I know they were lying… They hate me, Coop, and I know everyone else will too."_

_Blaine hung his head as silent sobs overtook him, tears openly streaming down his face. _

_Cooper wanted to punch himself in the face for being so stupid. How hadn't he seen this sooner? How could he have been oblivious to something so important in his little brother's life? He didn't know how to make it better. For the first time in his life, Cooper was completely at a loss for words._

_As Blaine's sobs became shallower, Cooper wrapped his arms around his tiny, baby brother. Blaine was so much smaller than Cooper remembered. He realized that he had been out of his little brother's life for far too long. _

"_Blaine, it doesn't matter to me if you're more attracted to Zac Efron than Jessica Alba or if you go to prom with some guy who you think is prettier than either of them; you're my brother and I love you. There is nothing you can say that would change that. And if anyone gives you trouble about it, I'll be here for you. I always have been and I always will be. I know it probably hasn't seemed that way lately since I haven't really been home, but I promise, B, I'm gonna be here for you as much as I can." Cooper rubbed Blaine's shoulders as the small boy's sobs became quieter. _

_Finally Blaine looked up at his older brother, a look of fear and sorrow in his eyes. "Please don't tell mom and dad," he begged. _

"_Hey, bro, that's not my job; it's yours, whenever you're ready."_

"_Thanks, Cooper," Blaine said, a sad smile forming on his face and his big, hazel eyes filled with gratitude and love for his brother._

"_Anytime, kiddo."_

"_And Cooper, I really do like Lisa. I think she's great for you," the younger boy decided. _

"_Thanks, B." Cooper messed up Blaine's curls as he grabbed the remote and turned the volume up so they could continue watching TV. _

_Not before long, Blaine was curled up on the couch, fast asleep on Cooper's chest. Cooper sat there, holding his baby brother in a one armed hug, wondering how he was going to protect Blaine in the years to come. _


	5. The Load Doesn't Weigh Me Down At All

**A/N: So I want to thank everyone who read this. I'm so proud to complete my first fanfic :) This _is_ the last chapter, unfortunately. I hope to write some more stories soon. I would love any reviews/comments and if you wanna message me with any prompts that would be lovely. Thank you again for all the support and for reading the little story in my head :)**

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><p>Cooper wiped his eyes with a Starbucks napkin he found in his pocket. It was now 10 in the morning and there were still no signs of Blaine waking up anytime soon.<p>

The hallway outside Blaine's room started to fill with life; doctors were rushing to care for new patients, visitors were being ushered into hospital rooms to see their loved ones, but Blaine's room remained still. Cooper grabbed Blaine's unbandaged hand, hoping and praying that his baby brother would just wake up so Cooper would know if everything was okay or not.

"Come on, B," Cooper pleaded, "I know you're exhausted, but… please. Just wake up so I can talk to you… well, so you can answer me. I've been talking to you, but you haven't really been answering."

But Blaine didn't respond; he remained motionless in his bed. Frustrated, Cooper got out of his chair and started pacing around the room. Fresh tears started to stream down his face. He sighed looking out the hospital window.

"It's a long long road from which there is no return  
>While we're on the way to there why not share?"<p>

He walked back over to Blaine's bed and carefully wiped the messy curls out of his brother's face like he used to when Blaine was little.

Blaine had been through so much at such a young age, but he always found a way to hide it, always had a smile on his face; he had so much emotional baggage that an outsider wouldn't even notice. Cooper knew that it was his turn to help Blaine carry some of his troubles; after all these years, simply being there had not been enough.

"And the load doesn't weigh me down at all  
>He ain't heavy , he's my brother."<p>

Cooper sat down, taking Blaine's hand once again in his own.

"I'm here for you, B. Don't worry about a thing. I'll always be here for you."

Down the hall, a woman was screaming at the top of her lungs about the pain in her stomach; two men were arguing loudly about certain people not seeing their father in his hospital room; nurses ran down the hall, pushing a hospital bed in front of them; but all was still in Blaine's room. Cooper sat there calmly, holding Blaine's hand while stroking the hair on his little brother's head.

He sang the last words of the song he had in his head for so long now, hoping that Blaine could hear him while he slept.

"He ain't heavy, he's my brother."


End file.
